We have been lucky so far this winter. It has been very wet rather than snowy. Personally I would rather have it cold that wet. Either way, here is a look back at yesteryear!
This is from my Guildford & District Collection & is Farnham Road Guildford (Hogs Back) on 28th December1927. Brr!
Taking part of Sepia Saturday
My blogging buddy, Pauleen from Family History Across the Seas has organised a fun little meme for Australia Day. As I blogged for Australia Day in previous years – 2011, 2012, 2013 I simply “had to” take part for 2014, although I have not answered all the questions.
My first ancestor to arrive in Australia was: George Bridges Bellasis and his wife Esther nee King who I blogged about in 2011 (and many times since). George was an officer in the Honourable East India Company and was transported on a ship called “The Fly” for killing a man in a duel for being dishonourable to his sister in law. George was pardoned and returned to India and his previous role in the HEIC. Meanwhile, Esther left behind in Australia this lovely piece of artwork, one of the earliest pieces painted by a woman.
This is called “The Carrajan by Mrs Bellasis, Sydney” and was painted circa 1803. I sent off to the archive, The Mitchell Library, State Library for NSW, for a electronic copy and it is one of my genealogical treasures.
I’m an Aussie mongrel, my ancestors came to Oz from: My family lines that went to Australia were all from England.
Did any of your ancestors arrive under their own financial steam? Yes, some did. John Ellis and his wife Sarah migrated to Geelong in Victoria in 1854 under an assisted migrant scheme. John Hunt Butcher and his wife Sarah migrated under completely their own steam to Victoria and then to Tasmania in 1821. Branches of that family moved west to Western Australia.
Did one person lead the way and others follow? Yes, In the case of John Ellis and his family they were followed by Sarah Ellis’ brother Josiah Turpin who travelled with his nephew Josiah Ellis a year later. John Hunt Butcher was I believed tempted to try the new land through his brother in law William James Burchell who was a famous botanist who had spent time in South Africa and South America.
Did any of your ancestors leave Australia and go “home”? Go home, who would really want to? The only one was George Bridges Bellasis who was pardoned and returned to India via England.
When I first dipped my toes into the genealogy & family history Society arena I was steered in the direction of the local society. That was back in 1988, and I have been a member of that Society ever since.
That was the days before the Internet and the days before on-line facilities. The way to become involved with a society was to pay the appropriate membership fee and in exchange receive a quarterly journal. For this particular Society I still have all those journals, all 104 of them! Surname interests were submitted to the Society using pen and paper and inserted into an envelope with a stamp. They appeared in the journal within a few months. In order to “connect” or share information with a fellow member you wrote a letter. I am still in touch with several of those early day researchers. One has become a great friend and resides in New Zealand. I can still recall the excitement when an envelope arrived with a New Zealand stamp on and I devoured the letter full of details of domestics, holidays, friendship and of course family history, the latest finds and discoveries.
This was the days of indexing parish records, monumental inscriptions and strays and much, much more. The data was indexed, checked and collated on index cards and slips and stored in shoe boxes. There was an army of volunteers working for the benefit of the members and the society. Working in a way that was completely alien to many of the new genealogists of today. I recall checking a series of monumental inscriptions at the churchyard of a rural parish in Surrey during a series of lunch breaks, in the days when pharmacies closed for lunch. Really it was all very civilised and looking back on the changes both within my profession and family history we really have been on a quite a journey.
A volunteer held those shoe boxes of data and undertook look ups on behalf of the Society. There might have been a fee to members or non members. It depended on the indexes and the Society. As I write this I have glanced back through a few of the early journals. Some of those journals contained articles from members who were deemed knowledgeable within the Society and many have since passed away after contributing so much.
Today, we can pay a fee and access an amazing amount of records via the on-line portals and business of Ancestry, FindmyPast and several others. Genealogy and family history is at risk of being deemed an on-line and “there at the touch of a button” hobby, but that is a subject for another Society Saturday.
I believe in giving back. Not necessarily to the Society that I have gained so much from, but to the wider hobby, obsession, genealogical arena. Paying the way forward in terms of knowledge, support and simply providing funds in the form of membership fees. That first Society I mentioned above had their annual fee at £6 for over 15 years and for me it was worth at least two or three times that. That Society is established in my home County. I have not attended a meeting for over 15 years because of geography, but I look forward to the journals and usually read them within days of it arriving. The membership secretary is in fact the one that processed my membership back in 1988!
Perhaps the instinct to belong to something somehow kicks into our minds and encourages us to part with cash to join a group of like minded people. Whatever the reason, stepping forward to Societies that we are members of,.and assisting in the society growing, moving forward into a new dimension of family history is important not just to the society but to us as individuals.
I believe that it is not necessarily what our Society can do for us, but what can we do for our Society.
Today is week 21 of what is going to be a 15 month project. Each Saturday, at around 12.30am UK time I will release the prompt for that week’s Book of Me, Written by You.
If you are new here, welcome! The details, background flyer and Face Book link to the Book of Me can be found HERE.
This week’s prompt is – Hobbies
The next issue of the free digital magazine is available NOW!
You can read my Introduction post HERE and you can follow the column by visiting The In-Depth Genealogist website and subscribing via email or via twitter and Facebook.
This month’s Across the Pond column is about the Survey into Life and Labour in London by Charles Booth
Happy reading & researching!
I am a Surrey girl. I am very proud of my roots and the endless genealogical issues and repercussions of living within a specific area, the boundaries of Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex for about 300 years.
When I research my maternal line, it is quite simply a nightmare! with several surnames appearing more than once; such as ELLIS, DENYER, HARRIS, HOLT, BRIDGER, BUTCHER and even a GOACHER/GOUCHER! – My own Grandparents were 6th Cousins although they didn’t know in their life times.
I have lived away from my native Surrey for about 17 years. I get that sense of giddy excitement of anticipation when I get to go “home”, back to Guildford and the South East of England. In some ways it does seem very ridiculous that someone in their 40’s can experience such a thing, but I really don’t care! I have lived in Devon for 17 years, and never in a million years will the seaside town that is where I live feel like home. That is somewhat sad, but it is absolutely the truth.
As we make the journey, probably along the A303, back towards the south east, across eventually towards the A31, what the locals call the Hogs Back I know I am home when I see the Cathedral at Guildford. In a strange and yet similar way, the journey home, down the B3192 into Teignmouth with a clear view of the sea and neighbouring Shaldon, I get a feeling of I am near to my home and the kettle and the sad task of unpacking looms.
What is stranger is that in the early 1990’s I lived in a City in New South Wales, Australia. My initial visit was for a year and since then I have revisited my family there. I probably feel more comfortable and content in Wagga Wagga than I do where I actually live, which for me, indicates that home is not just a physical structure, but a collection of emotions and people. A feeling of inclusiveness, contentment and safety.
The last five weeks with Mum in hospital has been full of mixed emotions. I have felt everything from fear, weary, scared, anxious, worry, joy,exhaustion and no doubt a few others that I can not remember.
I have always been quite close to my Mum, We have often during the course of a week experienced a variety of conversations. From the long to the quick and snippy plus emails.Regardless of that, I always forget to mention something and I have a “Mum list” in my notebook!
For much of the last five weeks, Mum has been unable to be bothered to talk on her mobile. She is hopeless at texts so we have managed with a few brief conversations. I miss our usual routine of chatter. About a week or so ago I heard Mum ask one of the nurses who was looking after her if her Mum was alive. The nurse replied that her mother was. I thought it was just curiosity; and perhaps it was. Then Mum said, that her Mum had died 16 years ago and that she missed her everyday.
I sat with Mum as she drifted off to sleep and pondered with the realisation that I always pick up the phone and chat with Mum. The regular mother and daughter conversations and much more. Now I was suddenly aware that Mum no longer has that with my Grandmother and I guess that no matter how old you are, we all want our Mum’s (or our equivalent) when things are tough. That basic instinct to return to the safe and secure.
How many of us though, take our Mum’s for granted? How many times have I thought in the last few weeks, “oh Mum will know that”. A question I have been forced to contemplate, somewhat reluctantly is, what about when Mum is no longer able to be asked? It is a sobering and depressing thought and yet somewhat inevitable at some point.
What I have shared with Mum over the last few weeks is comments, thoughts and good wishes sent to Mum from friends and family across the globe. Much of it thanks to social media. I shared the fact that some friends have mentioned Mum in prayers and some people have lit candles for her. It raised a smile when she responded with the question of was it greedy if the prayers and candles continued? I reassured her it was not!
Mum and I, along with my husband have been truly touched with the wishes, prayers, candles and messages. It has meant a great deal to us.
We can not thank you enough.
Today I am going to highlight a society that is new to me and I stumbled across, quite by chance.
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| Image courtesy of the The Guyana / British Guiana Genealogical Society |
The Guyana / British Guiana Genealogical Society formed in 2005.
It is completely free to join and is totally reliant on volunteer assistance with the Society. Sadly, the newsletters have stopped due to the workload and lack of support, but the Society does offer free membership and in order to take advantage of the free membership, all that you need do is register and post a message on the Forum. This is also free to join.
I do not believe that I have any particular ancestry in the region, but that said I have stumbled across several individuals from collateral lines that have popped up where I did not expect them to be. Furthermore, as I am also undertaking two one name studies, for the surnames of Orlando and Worship I find references in all manner of places and documents.
A quick read of the forum revealed an interest in at least two surnames that are registered with the Guild of One Name Studies.
There are numerous transcriptions, sources and other links to explore and I think this is certainly worth exploring if you potentially have ancestors in the region.
Today is week 20 of what is going to be a 15 month project. Each Saturday, at around 12.30am UK time I will release the prompt for that week’s Book of Me, Written by You.
If you are new here, welcome! The details, background flyer and Face Book link to the Book of Me can be found HERE.
The Anglers Rest blog first went online at Blogger in 2002. At the time of transfer, the counter was at 349,463.
It was moved to this site on 18th December 2015 when the counter was reset -:(
Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest 